Issue 126
March 2015
Brooklyn welterweight Neil Magny went a record-equaling 5-0 in the UFC in 2014, but he’s got an August title shot on his wish list, as well as a dream match with Mike Tyson
One fighter’s achievements more than any other had the selection panel for the Seventh Annual World MMA Awards divided this year, perhaps more than ever before. Competing in and winning five fights in a calendar year inside the Octagon is certainly no mean feat, but Neil Magny did just that in 2014.
The Brooklyn welterweight became only the second fighter in UFC history to ever go 5-0 in a single year, tying with Roger Huerta’s 2007 campaign. By doing so, Magny thrust himself into the upper echelons of the 170lb weight class. Not bad for a guy who emerged on TUF 16, but was 1-2 in his Zuffa career until little over 12 months ago.
To be able to stay healthy through five fight camps is incredible in the modern MMA landscape of weekly fight cancellations. And while one or two were admittedly quick turnarounds, the 27-year-old concedes it was a landmark achievement in his career. Staying free from injury, he insists, was the biggest factor in the most stellar year in his prizefighting life.
“It was a great year,” says Magny, who fights out of Grudge Training Center in Colorado. “I had the opportunity to keep competing, keep winning and I walked out of these fights without a scratch on me. It has been the best year for me so far.”
And it’s fighting out of such an esteemed camp, Magny believes, that ensured he was able to keep taking fights whenever Zuffa matchmaker Joe Silva came calling. “When you go against a guy like Nate Marquardt every day in the gym, most other opponents you will face are easy.
“You don’t run up against many guys as good as Nate. Not many guys are going to push you the way he does. So my fights are generally easier than practicing with Nate day-to-day.”
Magny started the year fighting for his UFC career. After a successful UFC debut in February 2013, he was on the receiving end of back-to-back defeats. When he was matched with Gasan Umalatov at UFC 169 on February 1st 2014, only a victory would do against ATT’s submission-savvy Russian.
A unanimous decision in New Jersey led to a spot on the Matt Brown vs. Erick Silva Fight Night card in Ohio in May. Once again Magny was on point, dominating the action against a resurgent Tim Means. Despite going the full three rounds, another clean bill of health led to another call from the UFC matchmaker.
Claudio Silva was booked for a fight at UFC Fight Night in Auckland, New Zealand on June 28th, only for the London-based Brazilian to be forced out through injury. Magny instead faced Jungle Fight champion Rodrigo de Lima, who was making his UFC debut. This time Magny scored a mid-second-round KO.
He headed home, now 3-0 for the year, but the 27-year-old was back in the gym the day after being offered a fight with red-hot Alex Garcia as a late replacement on August’s UFC Fight Night 49 prelim card. Garcia was 3-0 in his UFC career, and on a 7-0 tear heading to Oklahoma, but Magny again dominated to take the fight on all three judges scorecards. Eight months into 2014 and Magny was already 4-0.
As a reward, a fifth fight was booked for Rio de Janeiro in October, but it was another big test for the American. TUF Brazil 2 runner-up William Macario had the home support behind him when the opening bell rang out, but Magny’s striking was again on point. He ended the Brazilian’s resolve midway through the third and final round to seal the deal on that record-equaling five-fight success story.
“If you’d have offered me a couple of wins in 2014 at the start of the year, I’d have taken them. So to go five- fights unbeaten was incredible,” Magny tells FO. “A lot of the fights were quick turnarounds so I didn’t need to have full fight camps. But it’s a testament to my coaches that I was able to go into each and every fight with a specific game plan and in great shape.”
Quick turnarounds or not, preparing yourself for five professional fights in the UFC in such a short space of time is a remarkable achievement. Being able to not only physically compete at that level so frequently, but to mentally prepare for competition in such a high-pressurized environment is nothing short of outstanding. Especially when you see Magny also visited three continents in his pursuit of excellence.
And inspiration it seems comes both at home as well as in the gym. Training with his idols has helped Magny to push himself to the next level as a competitor, while strong family values perhaps shed light on where his fighting heart originates from.
“It’s pretty funny because many of the guys I was a big fan of in MMA I ended up training with. At the beginning of my time as a fan I was a big fan of Miguel Torres, who first introduced me to mixed martial arts.
“Then in high school Matt Hughes was the guy I followed a lot. Later on, Nate Marquardt and guys like that. It’s funny that everybody I looked up to as an aspiring MMA fighter I ended up training with at one time or another.
“It’s definitely cool training with a legend like Matt Hughes. I took a lot of beatings at the time but it was cool. I remember working with Matt and Robbie Lawler early on. I took my beatings at the time but it was really cool. All those guys were and are a big inspiration in my career.
“My grandmother too,” he adds. “She’s another one of those people who inspires me every day. She came to this country with nothing and worked her way up. She helped all her kids get through college, she helped all her kids get homes and many other things like that. She’s a hero to me. She came here with nothing and she just worked hard. It got her pretty far in life. She’s definitely one of my heroes.”
Magny’s family roots also lay claim to his birth name, Aoutneil, a Christian name of French origin, which perhaps offers a glimpse of what’s to come in the future. At least, that’s what Magny hopes anyway. “Recently, I found out the real meaning and origin of it and they actually named me “August Champion.” How crazy would it be if I would win the title some year in the month of August?” he laughs.
Magny’s fight life began when he was enlisted. He was a graduate of the famed Combatives Program in the army, which also led to him picking up a degree in Criminal Justice. Not surprisingly, had his MMA career not taken off he says he would still be there.
“If I didn’t get the opportunity to compete in MMA full time and make a decent living I would probably still be in the military pursuing a career in law enforcement,” Magny says. “And the Combatives Program, it set me up for my MMA career actually.
“You’re in there training every day and pick up techniques and when it comes time to compete you go out there and perform. You have fears and anxiety, but you just find a way to go out there and do your best. It transitions well to mixed martial arts because it’s very similar. You train wrestling, boxing, jiu-jitsu and, come fight night, you have to control your nerves and anxiety and put it all on the line come fight night.”
Despite his stellar run in 2014 Magny never made it onto one main card, although he did headline the prelims a couple of times. You’d expect his ambitions for 2015 would begin with an elusive spot at the top of the billing. While he’d naturally like to climb the 170lb ranks and keep his win run going, Magny has one fantasy fight for 2015 that may be beyond even his reach.
”If I could fight anybody, well, this may sound funny, but it would be interesting to fight Mike Tyson,” he says. "That guy was an animal. He’s mean, he’s crazy. I wonder what it would be like standing across from a beast like that.
“Holy crap, Mike Tyson is standing five feet away from me and in about two seconds the bell is going to ring and nobody is going to stop us from doing whatever! I wonder what it would feel like in that moment. Most people would s**t their pants standing across from him. Mike Tyson is probably the scariest athlete of all time.”
While the UFC can and have on occasion created magic inside the Octagon, Magny’s dream match-up may be a step too far. But one thing’s for sure, with his stock in the ascendancy, opportunity will again come knocking in 2015, that’s for sure.
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